WO2002045402A1 - Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels - Google Patents

Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2002045402A1
WO2002045402A1 PCT/US2001/051130 US0151130W WO0245402A1 WO 2002045402 A1 WO2002045402 A1 WO 2002045402A1 US 0151130 W US0151130 W US 0151130W WO 0245402 A1 WO0245402 A1 WO 0245402A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
prepaid
calling
services
calling party
party
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/051130
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Marwan M. Afana
Original Assignee
Mci Worldcom, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mci Worldcom, Inc. filed Critical Mci Worldcom, Inc.
Priority to BR0115735-3A priority Critical patent/BR0115735A/pt
Priority to EP01991638A priority patent/EP1340364A4/fr
Priority to MXPA03004667A priority patent/MXPA03004667A/es
Priority to JP2002546413A priority patent/JP2004515168A/ja
Priority to CA002430345A priority patent/CA2430345A1/fr
Priority to AU2002231372A priority patent/AU2002231372A1/en
Publication of WO2002045402A1 publication Critical patent/WO2002045402A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
    • H04M15/83—Notification aspects
    • H04M15/85—Notification aspects characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
    • H04M15/854—Available credit
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
    • H04M15/48—Secure or trusted billing, e.g. trusted elements or encryption
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
    • H04M15/51—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP for resellers, retailers or service providers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M17/00—Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
    • H04M2215/01—Details of billing arrangements
    • H04M2215/0156—Secure and trusted billing, e.g. trusted elements, encryption, digital signature, codes or double check mechanisms to secure billing calculation and information
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
    • H04M2215/54—Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
    • H04M2215/81—Notifying aspects, e.g. notifications or displays to the user
    • H04M2215/815—Notification when a specific condition, service or event is met
    • H04M2215/8166—Available credit

Definitions

  • the present application relates to telephone networks and more specifically to billing for professional services provided over the telephone.
  • a system, and methods for billing a client for charges payable to a service provider are presented.
  • An incoming call is received from the calling party at a prepaid calling ' center and the client is prompted for an identification number.
  • the prepaid calling center then establishes a voice connection between the client and the service provider and debits the client's prepaid account for the charges payable to the called party.
  • the prepaid calling system includes a central office for receiving an incoming call from the client, a voice unit for prompting the client for an identification number, a call processor for causing the central office to establish a phone call between the client and the services provider, and a database for storing a prepaid account for the client.
  • a method is also presented for collecting payments for services rendered by services providers.
  • the method includes receiving prepayments from clients and holding the prepayments in trust in prepaid accounts.
  • Phone conversations between the clients and the services providers are then monitored and chd ' _ as for services associated with the phone conversations are debited to the prepaid accounts and disbursed to the services providers.
  • FIGURE 1 is a block diagram of telecommunications system for facilitating professional services billing
  • FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a prepaid calling center
  • FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of a prepaid calling database
  • FIGURE 4 is a flow diagram describing the operation of the call processor.
  • the telecommunications system 100 includes any number of clients/client telephones 105, any number of professional services providers/professional services provider telephones 110, and a Prepaid Calling Center (PCC) 115.
  • the professional services provider telephones 110 are associated with providers of professional services that charge clients a fee in exchange for advice, consulting services, or the like during a telephone call over the public telephone network (PTN) 120 between the professional services provider's telephone 110 and the client's telephone 105. This fee is separate from the toll charges associated with the phone call.
  • PTN public telephone network
  • the PTN 120 is a network of central offices and tandem switches (not shown) forming the backbone of the telecommunications network.
  • the network of central offices and tandem switches together route phone calls from calling telephone terminals, e.g., client telephone 105 to called telephone terminals, e.g., professional services provider's telephone 110. Because the routing of phone calls from a calling telephone to a called telephone is well known in the art, a detailed discussion is omitted.
  • Each of the professional services providers 110 are associated with any number of client service telephone numbers, such as toll-free telephone numbers, dialable at the client's telephone 105.
  • client service telephone numbers such as toll-free telephone numbers
  • Outgoing calls dialed to any one of the client service telephone numbers are routed by the PTN 120 to the PCC 115.
  • the PCC 115 establishes the identity of the calling party at the client telephone 105, guides the caller through a menu of available services, verifies billing information, completes a voice connection from the client telephone terminal 105 to the professional services provider telephone 110, and bills the caller.
  • the identity of the party at the client telephone 105 can be established by means of a personal identification number (PIN) and the billing arrangements can be established by means of an account with a prepaid credit.
  • the client telephone 105 can establish a prepaid account with the PPC 115 with a credit, against which charges incurred during phone calls to professional service provider telephone 110 are deducted.
  • initial, and replenishing credits can be arranged by use of credit cards, debit cards, or other payment systems .
  • the PCC 115 can be operated by an entity that is separate from, and which can serve any number of the professional services providers 110.
  • the PCC 115 operator can then sell cards with client service telephone numbers and PINs to professional services providers 110.
  • the professional services providers 110 can then distribute the cards to their clients 105.
  • the PCC 115 comprises an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) 205 overlay of a central office 210.
  • the central office 210 is a switch capable of establishing a voice connection between the client 105 and the professional services provider 110 by interconnecting a first leg from the client 105 to the PCC 115 to a second leg from the PCC 115 to the professional services provider 110.
  • the AIN 205 overlay provides the "intelligence" which causes the PCC 115 to establish the identity of the caller, and set up the billing arrangements for the call.
  • the AIN 205 includes a call processor 215, a voice unit 220, and a prepaid client database 225.
  • the call processor 215 can comprise a hardware platform, such as central processing unit (CPU) , which executes a series of instructions which causes the call processor 215 to operate as will be described below.
  • the series of instructions executed by the call processor 215 can be provided thereto, by means . of storage on a computer readable medium such as read-only memory (ROM) , random a - access memory (RAM), or removable, portable m c .' ry such as a floppy disc, or a compact disc.
  • the call processor 215 may be implemented on an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) .
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • the voice unit 220 synthesizes voice messages audible at the client telephone 105.
  • the voice messages are used to obtain inputs from and provide outputs to the caller. Inputs from the caller can be received by means of dual-tone multifrequency signals associated with the buttons on the client's telephone 105 which are receieved by a DTMF decoder which can be integrated with the call processor 215. Frequently played digitized messages such as a prompt to the caller to provide the PIN can be stored at the voice unit 220. Other more specific voice messages can be stored at the prepaid client database 225 and provided to the voice unit 220 by the call processor 215.
  • the database 225 stores information pertaining co each client account in the form, of records.
  • the records are retrievable by the call processor 215 to connect the incoming call to the professional services provider 110, and bill the client 105 for services rendered in connection with the incoming call.
  • the records can also store a menu of available services to guide the caller to select a particular service from the preferred services provider in the form of digitized messages.
  • the database 225 contains a plurality of records 305 which associate information pertaining to each PIN.
  • Each record 305 includes a plurality of fields 310, wherein there is stored the PIN 310a, the client services phone number 310b associated with the PIN, the identity of the client 310c, the identity of the professional services provider 310d, a menu of services available to the client 310e, a schedule of rates 310f per unit of time for each of the services available in the menu of services, the client's prepaid balance 310g, and accrued charges 310h owed the professional services provider 110.
  • the menu of services 310e includes an interactive digitized recording of a list of services which are available to the client associated with the record 310. It is noted that professional services providers 110 often provide a number of different services, each of which are handled by different persons or departments. Each of these services is associated with a particular one of the rate of charges in the schedule of rates field 310f.
  • the menu of services 310e also include call completion commands corresponding to each of the listed services. The call completion commands are used to establish a voice connection with a specific professional services provider telephone 110 which is associated with a person or department which can provide the service corresponding therewith.
  • a large law firm may have attorneys specializing in estate planning, tax law, and employee benefits administration.
  • a typical menu of services field 310e may list estate planning, tax, and employee benefits services, and include a prompt to the user to select a particular one of the services.
  • the estate planning service can be associated with instructions for placing a phone call to an attorney 110 at the law firm who specializes in estate planning
  • the tax service can be associated with instructions for placing a phone call to an attorney 110 at the law rirm who specializes in tax
  • the employee benefits administration service can be associated with the instructions for placing a phone call to an attorney 110 at the law firm who specializes in employee benefits administration.
  • the schedule of rates 310f may include one billing rate for estate planning services, a second billing rate for tax services, and a third billing rate for employee benefits.
  • a consulting firm e.g., a consulting firm, accounting firm, or even a doctor's office.
  • the records 305 m the database 225 are selectively retrievable by the call processing unit 215 during an incoming call.
  • the call processing unit 215 uses the information therein to assist the user in selecting a particular professional service, direct the central office 210 to establish a voice connection with the desired professional services provider telephone 110, and appropriately charge the client 105, as described below.
  • FIGURE 4 there is illustrated a flow diagram describing the operation of the PCC 120.
  • An incoming call to a client services telephone number is routed by the PTN to the central office 210 of the PCC 120, and detected by the call processor 215 at step 405.
  • the call processor 215 then causes the voice unit 220 to prompt the caller to provide their PIN (step 410) using DTMF signals generated by pressing the buttons on the client telephone 105.
  • the call processor 215 performs a database dip to retrieve the record 310 associated with the PIN recei ... during step 410.
  • the call processor 215 then causes the voice unit 220 to play a list of services available to the client 105 and the rates associated therewith (step 420) by forwarding the contents of the menu of services field 310e, and the schedule of rates field 310f to the voice unit 220.
  • the call processor 215 will determine whether the client 105 has validly chosen an available service from the menu of services and indicated a willingness to incur the billing rate transmitted during step 420.
  • the incoming call is disconnected (step 430), thereby terminating the foregoing process.
  • the call processor 215 verifies a sufficient balance (step 435) by making a comparison between the prepaid balance field 310g and a multiple of the rate for the selected service in the schedule of rates 310f.
  • the foregoing comparison can include requesting the estimated length of the call from the caller and using the estimated length as the multiple to determine if the prepaid balance in the prepaid balance field 310g is sufficient.
  • the call processor offers the caller a chance to renew their prepaid balance 310g (step 440). If the caller chooses to renew their balance, the call processor obtains billing information, such as credit card or debit card numbers, places a charge using the billing information, and credits the prepaid balance 310g (step 445).
  • billing information such as credit card or debit card numbers
  • the call processor obtains billing information, such as credit card or debit card numbers, places a charge using the billing information, and credits the prepaid balance 310g (step 445).
  • billing information such as credit card or debit card numbers
  • the call processor obtains billing information, such as credit card or debit card numbers, places a charge using the billing information, and credits the prepaid balance 310g (step 445).
  • billing information such as credit card or debit card numbers
  • the call processor 210 commands the central office 210 to establish a voice connection to the professional services provider 110 by placing a phone call to the client services number 310b over the PSTN (step 450) .
  • the PPC continuously debits the caller's prepaid balance field 310g and accumulates the charges in the accrued charges field 310h at the rate corresponding to the selected s-ervice in the schedule of rates 310f for the duration of the call (step 455) until the caller's prepaid balance is exhausted (step 460) or the call has been terminated (step 465).
  • step 462 the voice connection between the caller 105 and the professional services provider 110 is temporarily interrupted (step 462) and the caller is offered the opportunity to renew the prepaid balance 310g and steps 440-460 are repeated.
  • step 465 the charges, time of the call, and the selected service from the menu of services is recorded in the accrued charges field 310h (step 370) and the process is completed.
  • the foregoing allows for provision 01 a unique service. Significant economies of scale are realized where the PCC 115 is used to serve a large number of professional services providers 110. Accordingly, a business entity can be established for operating the PCC 115 and providing billing services to professional services providers 110.
  • the business entity can sell prepaid cards with PINs to the professional services providers 110.
  • the professional services providers 110 can then distribute or resell these cards to their clients 105, thereby setting up a prepaid account.
  • An initial prepaid account balance can be collected in a number of ways.
  • the purchase price of the card can include an initial credit.
  • the initial credit can be collected when the client 105 makes their first call to the professional services provider during steps 435 - 445.
  • the prepaid account balance stored in prepaid account balance field 310g can be held in trust for the client by the business entity operating the PCC 115. Calls to the professional services providers 110 can be facilitated as shown in FIGURE 4, and accrued charges can be stored in the accrued charges field 310h. At regular periodic intervals, the accrued charges stored in the accrued charges field 310h can be paid to the professional services provider by the PCC 115 operator. A statement itemizing each of the accrued charges in the accrued charges field 310h can also be provided to both the client 105 and the professional services provider 110 at regular periodic intervals.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Meter Arrangements (AREA)
  • Financial Or Insurance-Related Operations Such As Payment And Settlement (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système et des procédés permettant de facturer les clients de fournisseurs de services. Les appels destinés aux fournisseurs de services sont reçus à un centre d'appel à prépaiement où les clients sont invités à fournir un numéro d'identification. Le numéro d'identification est utilisé pour extraire d'une base de données un enregistrement comprenant des informations relatives à un compte débiteur du client, un menu des services disponibles auprès du fournisseur de services et le numéro de téléphone du fournisseur de services. Après avoir récupéré les informations précitées, le centre d'appel à prépaiement établit une communication téléphonique entre le client et le fournisseur de services. Le centre d'appel à prépaiement débite ensuite le compte prépayé selon un tarif de facturation prescrit jusqu'à ce que la communication soit terminée.
PCT/US2001/051130 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels WO2002045402A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
BR0115735-3A BR0115735A (pt) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Número de identificação pessoal para cobrança por serviços profissionais
EP01991638A EP1340364A4 (fr) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels
MXPA03004667A MXPA03004667A (es) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Numero de identificacion personal de facturacion de servicios profesionales.
JP2002546413A JP2004515168A (ja) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 個人の識別番号を請求するプロフェッショナルサービス
CA002430345A CA2430345A1 (fr) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels
AU2002231372A AU2002231372A1 (en) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Professional services billing personal identification number

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US09/750,619 US6826269B2 (en) 2000-11-30 2000-11-30 Professional services billing personal identification number
US09/750,619 2000-11-30

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002045402A1 true WO2002045402A1 (fr) 2002-06-06

Family

ID=25018585

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2001/051130 WO2002045402A1 (fr) 2000-11-30 2001-10-13 Numero d'identification personnel pour la facturation de service professionnels

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (1) US6826269B2 (fr)
EP (1) EP1340364A4 (fr)
JP (1) JP2004515168A (fr)
AU (1) AU2002231372A1 (fr)
BR (1) BR0115735A (fr)
CA (1) CA2430345A1 (fr)
MX (1) MXPA03004667A (fr)
WO (1) WO2002045402A1 (fr)

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US7215942B1 (en) * 2001-08-09 2007-05-08 Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corp. Architecture for managing prepaid wireless communications services
US20030046169A1 (en) * 2001-09-04 2003-03-06 Richard Fraser Procurement and management of professional services
US20030108159A1 (en) * 2001-12-12 2003-06-12 International Business Machines Corporation Destination device based callee identification
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US7167551B2 (en) * 2001-12-12 2007-01-23 International Business Machines Corporation Intermediary device based callee identification
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US7443970B2 (en) * 2001-12-17 2008-10-28 International Business Machines Corporation Logging calls according to call context
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2002231372A1 (en) 2002-06-11
MXPA03004667A (es) 2004-10-14
US20020064261A1 (en) 2002-05-30
CA2430345A1 (fr) 2002-06-06
EP1340364A1 (fr) 2003-09-03
EP1340364A4 (fr) 2004-10-13
BR0115735A (pt) 2004-01-13
JP2004515168A (ja) 2004-05-20
US6826269B2 (en) 2004-11-30

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